Atroosh-- A kurdish Refugee Camp in Iraq

    Continuing on my voyage of studying Refugees, I decided it was time to write yet another post regarding the book that I am reading called Migrations- Humanity in Transition.  This is a photo that was taken in Iraq. It is the largest Kurdish refugee camp of Iraqi. Thousands of people live there.

What kind of a home would that be? I often wonder as I study about these things, how do refugees get food? Being a business major, I am very interested in the flow of money and from what I understand, there is no money that is being transferred. This means that they have no supplies and with no supplies they cannot make any money. I am reminded by the destitution apparent in this photo that they really have nothing. They need our help! I am glad that I have had the chance to study them both academically and on my own! 




Salgado, Sebastiao. Migrations: Humanity in Transition. Pamphlet. New York: Aperture Foundation, Inc., 2000. [pg. 110-111]. Print

Refugees from the Croatian population

Recently, I came across the book "Migrations." In it is a multitude of photographs depicting the human exodus world wide. Salgado has spent his professional career focused on different aspects of the earth starting with "Workers" then "Exodus" and "Genesis" is his most recent topic. Migrations is centered in his exodus campaign. As with all of his works, countless years, miles of travel, and photographs were taken to make is art as persuasive as possible. My favorite photograph was titled, "Refugees from the Croatian population."

The 1990's was not a safe era to be a Croatian. Due to much political strife caused from a push for independence by the leader of Croatia against the Serb population of Yugoslavia, A war broke out over who would control Krajina, a land that is thought to belong to multiple nations. When a peace offering was rejected by the Krajina Serbs, a war broke out and the result was thousands of Serbs fleeing during the middle of the war. ("History of Croatia"). this picture was taken by Salgado and is evidence of the dangers faced by the refugees (Salgado). 

I am deeply affected by this as I have been by many of the other refugee photos that I have witnessed. It causes me great concern that these "innocent civilians," as Salgado labels them, have to face such danger to be safe. Their goal is to make it to a better land where peace resides but the reality of that for them is grim. They like a herd of cows, really believe that the grass is greener on the other side but, like the cows, the fence to get to the other side is usually impossible to cross.

“Brief History of Croatia Serb Krajina Region”. Dalje.com. Kontineo. 11March 2008. Web. 6 February 2013.
Salgado, Sebastiao. Migrations: Humanity in Transition. Pamphlet. New York: Aperture Foundation, Inc., 2000. 22-94. Print

The Salt of the Earth Review

Sebastiao Salgado with his film “The Salt of the Earth” changed me in many ways. It educated and informed me about the sheer number of refugees, migrants, suffering, starvation and deprivation that exists today in the world—most of which is unnoticed to the global audience. It also gave me reverence and perspective to the situation and the magnitude of it. I was shocked to see that so many catastrophes have happened in the last five decades that I never heard about in history class or on the news.

Refugees are everywhere. They are all around us. “They are usually ordinary people—‘innocent civilians’” says Salgado. We tend to give them a bad rap because now we have to take care of people that cannot take care of themselves and they become our burden. The Salt of the Earth changed the thoughts of negativity I had in my heart about the economic burden. My perspective was “what a burden?” and now it is “what an opportunity?”

The refugees coming to America from Syria are good people that are in a tough situation and they need our help. What if I was placed in their position? I just up rooted my family and we had to move where we did not know the culture, the language, had no family, and no means once we arrived.

So what am I going to do as a result of what I saw? I have a new determination to try a little harder to not judge others. Generally people are molded by their surroundings, life experiences, and background. Those things are what make up a person, their character, behavior, and the way they act. Many times it is easy to judge someone that is different, (acts different, looks different, speaks different, thinks different) but the lesson so beautifully portrayed by Salgado is that no matter our background, color of skin, or language, WE ARE ALL HUMANS. We all come from the same being that loves us. This film has inspired me to be kinder, lift the hands that hang hopelessly, strengthen the feeble knees, and be more aware. I hope it has that effect on you too.

Check out this link to the trailer-- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OivMlWXtWpY

Introduction to Sebastiao Salgado

Sebastiao Salgado was born in Brazil where his family dwelt at their farm. In his teens he moved from the farm to the city where he enrolled in school and attended the university in Sao Paulo. He had an interest in economics and pursued that path until 1969 when Brazil was put under military rule and he found himself as a refugee, student, and an immigrant in Europe. 

Three decades later and through a lifetime of experiences he has found his passion is to document the human predicament of injustice. In his book he speaks of migrants, refugees, displaced persons, tragedies, and land struggles with the hope that some of the people that see his work will be persuaded to help the world and these people. 

Through his experiences he says, “I have no answers, but I believe that some answers must exist, that humanity is capable of understanding, even controlling, the political, economic, and social forces that we have set loose across the globe… Are we to do nothing in face of the steady deterioration of our habitat, whether in cities or nature? Are we to remain indifferent as the values of rich and poor countries alike deepen the divisions in our societies? We cannot.”

The purpose of this blog will be to raise awareness to the refugees that are among us and the problem that we are not doing anything about it.